Other Philistine commanders start questioning why Hebrew soldiers are counted among the Philistine soldiers in preparing for battle against Saul. In prior engagements, there were Hebrew conscripts fighting in the Philistine army, such as in Saul's first battles against the Philistines (1 Samuel 14:21).
Achish, the king of Gath, explains that the Hebrews are led by David, who is now a loyal vassel to Gath. This freaks out the other Philistine commanders who remember the saying "Saul killed thousands and David tens of thousands". They believe that David is a double-agent and will fight for Saul when the battle actually happens.
Achish tells the bad news to David: "Sorry bud, you gotta sit this one out. You can't stay and fight."
David: "What did I do wrong?"
Well, David never asks God whether he should fight for the Philistines or turn-coat for the Hebrews during the actual battle. Nor does David explain in the text what he actually would have done, so we are left to speculate about which side David would have fought for. That said, since David was killing Amalekites but telling Achish that they were Hebrews, David would probably not have fought against Saul's army.
Interestingly, during the interaction between David and Achish, Achish refers to "God" and the "Lord". Achish even refers to David as an "angel of the Lord". So I wonder if David had an evangelistic effect on the Philistine king. If so, that's an interesting turnaround - David slew Goliath of Gath; David becomes missionary to Gath.
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